Google announces thinner, lighter Nexus 7 with higher-res screen, arrives July 30th for $230
When we reviewed the Nexus 7 last summer, we said it was the best tablet $200 could buy. A year later, that still might be true if it wasn't for the fact that there's a new Nexus 7 in town.
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the confirmation of an arc that has been building all year: Reuters reported back in April that Google planned a second-gen Nexus 7 for July, and last week's leak filled in dual cameras, wireless charging and Android 4.3. Today's announcement lands almost exactly one year after the original $199 Nexus 7 launched with Jelly Bean in June 2012 — the device our own review called the best tablet $200 could buy.
The notable change is the price: $230 rather than $199, the first time Google has raised the entry price of its own reference tablet. The new unit ships with Android 4.3 preinstalled, which Google began rolling out to existing Nexus devices the same day. The announcement came out of the same San Francisco event where Google launched Chromecast and Helpouts, making this a hardware-plus-services push rather than a lone tablet refresh.
First-order effects
- Buyers get a thinner body, higher-resolution screen and LTE options across AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile per the hands-on coverage, but pay $30 more than the 2012 model — Google is trading its pure price-floor position for a spec bump.
- The original Nexus 7 becomes discounted prior-year stock overnight, while existing Nexus owners receive Android 4.3 starting today, keeping Google's update promise intact.
Second-order effects
- Rivals in the small-tablet bracket now face a refreshed benchmark at $230 instead of $200, forcing them to choose between matching Google's display specs or undercutting on price where Google no longer sits.
- An LTE-capable Nexus at carrier-supported bands pulls the Nexus line into the subsidized-contract conversation for the first time, expanding where carriers — not just retailers — become its sales channel.
Third-order effects
- If Google holds an annual cadence, the Nexus 7 hardens into the yearly yardstick other Android tablets are measured against, with each summer refresh resetting the price-to-spec ratio for the whole category.
The trend: Google is evolving Nexus from a one-off cheap tablet experiment into a annually-refreshed reference platform whose price point sets the ceiling for budget Android hardware.